When converting an original old antique iron bed to a modern size, one of the most important things to remember is to maintain the symmetry of that original design.

Now this isn’t always easy and occasionally the bed you select is going to look different after the conversion. Be sure and ask for a “proportional working sketch” prior to having any bed cut into and welded larger. One of the best reasons for this is because on some beds can have numerous ways it can be converted. On other ones there’s really only one way………. as seen in the photo above. Any other conversion to the bed above would not have looked good or appropriate and would have changed the original design.

Some iron beds, after conversion from their original double size, look better than they did. That’s due to the additional density of design king conversions can bring to an otherwise sparse designs.

Also……. If the bed you’ve selected has two or three perfect arches across the top…..know that maintaining the symmetry in a conversion is going to be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. It will require cutting and welding nearly twice as much to elongate your bed, because of the amount of additional cuts and welds to make each one of the arches the same.

All beds can be converted in to king size. Not all should be. But they all can. Some will look much better converted than others.

The only beds we try and steer our customers away from being converted to king size, are ones with the thin 3/8″ rod going across the outer top perimeter. Beds of this nature already have a certain degree of “flex” to them. Welding additional rod to make them wider is only going to exacerbate that degree of “flex”. That can be very disconcerting when you’re leaning up against the headboard to watch TV or read in bed and the headboard bends and moves. That won’t happen if the bed you select for conversion is 1″ thick wall diameter tubing or greater. If you’re only going for the “look” and the flex issue doesn’t matter to you……. then it’s not a problem. But for practical use of your bed and for everyday use….. choose an one with the structural integrity to stand up to a width conversion.